Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and rope. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coordinated. Rhythmic gymnastics is governed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FiG), which first recognized it as a sport in 1963. It became an Olympic sport in 1984, with an individual all-around event. The group all-around competition was added to the Olympics in 1996. At the international level, rhythmic gymnastics is a women-only sport. The most prestigious competitions, besides the Olympic Games, are the World Championships, World Games, European Championships, European Games, the World Cup Series and the Grand Prix Series. Gymnasts are judged on their artistry, execution of skills, and difficulty of skills, for which they gain points. They perform leaps, balances, and rotations along with handling the apparatus.
At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, three disciplines of gymnastics were contested: artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline. The artistic gymnastics and trampoline events were held at the Olympic Indoor Hall and the rhythmic gymnastics events were held at the Galatsi Olympic Hall.
Irina Alexandrovna Viner, formerly Irina Alexandrovna Viner-Usmanova, is an Uzbek-born Russian rhythmic gymnastics coach who is head coach of the Russian national team, president of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, and former vice president of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Technical Committee of the International Gymnastics Federation.
Katsiaryna Aliaksandraŭna Halkina is a retired Belarusian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2018 European all-around bronze medalist. She competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, and finished 6th in the all-around final.
Salome Pazhava is a former Georgian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is Georgia's most successful rhythmic gymnast after Irina Gabashvili. She finished 4th in All-around at the 2015 World Championships.
Aleksandra Sergeyevna Soldatova is a retired Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2018 World All-around bronze medalist, 2018 World ribbon champion, the 2016 Grand Prix Final All-around champion and the 2016 Russian National All-around champion. On the junior level, she is the 2012 European Junior ribbon champion and two-time Russian Junior National All-around medalist.
Dina Alekseyevna Averina is a Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic All-around silver medalist, the only four-time World All-around Champion, the 2018 silver and 2021 European All-around bronze medalist and the 2016 Grand Prix Final All-around silver medalist. On a National level, she is the 2017, 2018 and 2022 Russian National All-around champion and the 2013 Russian Junior All-around bronze medalist. Her identical twin sister, Arina Averina, is also a competitive rhythmic gymnast.
Arina Alekseyevna Averina is a Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is a 2020 Summer Olympics finalist, a two-time world all-around silver medalist, a two-time European all-around champion and the 2016 Grand Prix Final all-around bronze medalist. She is a three-time (2019-2021) Russian national all-around champion and a three-time Russian national all-around medalist. Her identical twin sister Dina Averina is also a competitive rhythmic gymnast.
Linoy Ashram is a retired Israeli individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic All-around Champion, the 2018 World All-around silver medalist, two-time World All-around bronze medalist, the 2020 European All-around champion, and the 2019 European Games All-around silver medalist. She is the third Israeli athlete and first Israeli woman to win an Olympic gold medal in any sport, and the first Israeli rhythmic gymnast to win an Olympic medal. She became the first rhythmic gymnast from outside a post-Soviet republic to win a gold medal at an Olympics where former Soviet states participated. Ashram announced her retirement from competitive gymnastics at a press conference in Tel Aviv on 4 April 2022.
Nicol Zelikman is a former Israeli individual rhythmic gymnast. She is a two-time medalist at the 2016 European Junior Championships.
Alina Aliaksandraŭna Harnasko is a Belarusian individual rhythmic gymnast and former junior rhythmic gymnastics group gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic all-around bronze medalist, 2021 World Championships all-around silver medalist and ribbon gold medalist, 2020 European all-around silver medalist, and twice Grand Prix final all-around silver medalist.
Erika Rosenova Zafirova is a Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic group all-around champion. She is the 2019 World group all-around bronze medalist and 5 balls silver medalist. She is the 2021 European 5 balls champion and 3 hoops + 4 clubs silver medalist. She won two silver medals and one bronze medal at the 2019 European Games.
Laura Jean Pierre Traets is a Bulgarian group rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic champion in the group all-around. She is the 2018 World and 2021 European champion in 5 balls and the 2018 European champion in 3 balls + 2 ropes. She is a two-time World group all-around bronze medalist and the 2017 World group all-around silver medalist. On the junior level, she is the 2013 European group all-around bronze medalist.
The 2018 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 10 to 16 September 2018 at Arena Armeec. The top three countries in the group all-around, Russia, Italy, and Bulgaria won the first three spots for the 2020 Olympic Games. Russia was the most successful nation of the competition with seven of the nine gold medals, and Bulgaria and Italy each won a title.
Madlen Milenova Radukanova is a Bulgarian group rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic group all-around champion and the 2018 World 5 hoops champion. She is a two-time European champion, a two-time World group all-around bronze medalist, the 2017 World group all-around silver medalist, and the 2018 European group all-around bronze medalist.
The 2019 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Baku, Azerbaijan from 16 to 22 September 2019. The competition took place at the National Gymnastics Arena and served as a qualifier for the 2020 Olympic Games. There were Olympic berths awarded to 16 individuals and 5 groups. There were 301 participating athletes from 61 countries.
Stefani Radoslavova Kiryakova is a Bulgarian group rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic group all-around champion and the 2018 World 5 hoops champion. She is a two-time World group all-around bronze medalist and the 2018 European group all-around bronze medalist. She is also a two-time European champion.
Ekaterina Olegovna Vedeneeva is a Slovenian individual rhythmic gymnast.
Simona Dyanova Dyankova is a Bulgarian former group rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic group all-around champion and the 2018 World 5 hoops champion. She is a two-time World group all-around bronze medalist, the 2017 World group all-around silver medalist, and the 2018 European group all-around bronze medalist.
Anastasiia Maksimovna Salos is an individual rhythmic gymnast representing Belarus. She is the 2020 European Championships All-around bronze medalist, as well as the 2019 World Championships Team bronze medalist and 2019 European Championships Team silver medalist.
